Fifty marching bands came to town to compete and determine who is the best. For each band, months of practice all came down to a 7- to 10-minute performance. A panel of 10 judges evaluated each band on its musical and visual presentation.

A Governor's Cup was presented to each of the six division winners with the highest scores. The marching band names are engraved on the cup and returned after a year for presentation to the next conference winners.

People approaching the Dome could hear cheering and instruments playing from the outside.

As early as 7 a.m., tour buses rolled up to the Dome for their bands to warm up for their shows, which began at 8 a.m. with the Division Avenue High School marching band from Levittown, Long Island. The last bands were expected to play until about 10 p.m.

Abe Zelenyak, a sophomore on the drum line at Cicero-North Syracuse High School, has been in band for three years. His band arrived at SU's Skytop and skipped warm up due to the rain and cold.

Cicero-North Syracuse placed fifth in their division.

"We weren't able to warm up at all. We didn't think it was worth it for us to go out in the rain," Zelenyak said.

But the weather did not discourage them.

"I just like having that feeling coming off with them, doing the best that we can," Zelenyak said. "We worked hard all season so it's the best feeling."

Seeing the talent in other bands is another rewarding part about coming out, he said.

Jake Diamond, who plays for the Suffern High School band from Rockland County, said his band decided to warm up in the rain. Diamond is a senior and has been in band for six years.

"It was freezing rain when we were outside trying to warm up, but we ran through the whole show fine," Diamond said. "Seeing other bands and what they've been working on all season. They definitely have a lot of talent."

Diamond is deciding between University of Michigan or University of Illinois and plans to march in their bands.

In preparing for the conference, band members spend hours in band camp, practices and show rehearsals while keeping up with school work.

A younger band, Auburn High School's Vanguard, came in this year with a new director and a majority of a band who are not seniors or juniors.

Auburn placed tenth in their division.

Director Michael Miller says his kids did a great job, and he's been working with the group as director since June.

"It went absolutely as planned," Miller said. "It's a very young band with a lot of freshmen and sophomores. Our focus was a little different. More on developing and looking to the future."

Danielle DeTomaso, an Auburn senior drum major, said she's proud of her band. This is her third year in band.

"I just think it's a very exhilarating feeling," DeTomaso said. "It always gets your adrenaline pumping. I just feel like everyone does their best when they're here."

Between practice, school and work, it gets stressful, DeTomaso said, but the experience is worth it, she said. She plans on studying forensic science after graduating high school and hopes to continue pursuing music.